Twins host Mariners in matchup between streaking clubs

Baseball Betting Lines

08/20/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners try to stay atop the American League wild card standings when they begin a three-game set with the Minnesota Twins at the Metrodome this evening.

Seattle completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, as Jose Guillen hit a two-run homer and drove in a season-high five runs to lead the Mariners to an 11-5 win at Safeco Field.

Ichiro Suzuki went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBI and Adrian Beltre drove in a pair of runs for the Mariners, who have won six of their last eight games.

Felix Hernandez (9-6) won his third straight decision, as he gave up five runs -- four earned -- on 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings of work for Seattle, which won seven of eight against Chicago this season.

Seattle leads the New York Yankees by a half-game in the wild card race and trails the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim by two games in the AL West. The Yankees and Angels start a three-game series tonight in Anaheim.

Getting the call for the Mariners tonight will be left-hander Horacio Ramirez, who is 7-4 with a 7.38 ERA. Ramirez was tagged with a loss against the Twins on Tuesday, as he surrendered six runs and nine hits in five innings.

Ramirez, who will be making just his second-ever start against Minnesota, is just 1-3 with a 13.50 ERA in six road starts this season.

Minnesota will pin its hopes tonight on young righty Matt Garza, who defeated Ramirez and the Mariners in his last start on Tuesday. Garza allowed three runs and nine hits in seven innings of that one, as he improved to 2-3 on the year to go along with a superb 2.05 ERA.

This will be Garza's second start against Seattle.

Minnesota got a huge effort from Johan Santana on Sunday, as the AL's reigning Cy Young Award winner struck out a franchise-record 17 batters over eight shutout innings to lead his team past the Texas Rangers, 1-0, in the finale of a three-game set.

Santana (13-9), who set a career high for strikeouts, gave up just two hits to Rangers slugger Sammy Sosa -- a leadoff single in the fifth and a two- out double in the seventh. He didn't walk a batter and retired the first 12 Texas batters of the game.

With Santana three strikeouts short of tying the major league record, Minnesota turned to Joe Nathan in the ninth. The Twins closer committed an error which put the tying run in scoring position with one out, but rebounded to strike out both Brad Wilkerson and Michael Young to notch his 27th save of the season.

The 19 combined strikeouts set a single-game Twins record, passing the previous mark of 18 set against Texas in May 22 of this season.

Michael Cuddyer's leadoff home run in the second inning provided the only offense for the Twins, who have won four of five.

Minnesota has won five of its six matchups with the Mariners this season and is 21-12 in the series since the start of the 2004 campaign. Seattle has also struggled in Minneapolis, where it has lost in 10 of its last 12 visits.

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El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''

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NFL ODDSTop Football Betting Free Agents to Change Teams

NFL Betting

It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.

We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.

Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.

Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.

Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.

NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.

The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Wagering

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